Ronald N. Cogliano: Labor Day for all workers

By Ronald N. Cogliano

Friday

Aug 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 31, 2007 at 11:37 PM

Editor’s note: Embargoed for use on Labor Day.

We recognize Labor Day as a celebration of American workers and what their drive, commitment and energy mean to our country and our individual prosperity. It is also a day to reflect on the birth of the labor movement, when workers united to demand better pay, shorter days and safer workplaces.

Editor’s note: Embargoed for use on Labor Day.

We recognize Labor Day as a celebration of American workers and what their drive, commitment and energy mean to our country and our individual prosperity. It is also a day to reflect on the birth of the labor movement, when workers united to demand better pay, shorter days and safer workplaces.

However, that is the past, and this Labor Day and those to follow belong to all workers, not only the unionized.

The fact is the unions’ numbers have been in a free fall since their heyday of the 1950’s, in large part because government has stepped in to ensure workers’ rights that didn’t exist when the United States was coming of economic age.

Unions were a by-product of ignorance, greed and cold-heartedness of the “captains of industry” during our country’s economic and industrial revolution. Incidents such as the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire that killed 146 garment workers in a sweatshop, coupled with the lack of certain rights and protections for the average worker were the genesis for change.

Today, strict laws on the local, state and federal levels protect workers and Americans enjoy the highest standard of living and economic prosperity in history. In fact, federal data shows that these laws are so effective in protecting employees that a large majority of America’s workers no longer feel compelled to join a union to ensure their rights and safety.

But some of those very same unions, who fought to bring justice to the average worker, have become what they once despised ñ a small group bent on protecting their financial interests by denying the majority of workers equal opportunity.

Construction labor unions, for example, have increasingly relied on political muscle to discriminate against 80 percent of Massachusetts construction workers, who chose not to join a union in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. At the behest of the powerful construction unions, which spend millions of dollars each year on political campaigns, some local and state office holders adopt Project Labor Agreements (PLA) to provide the unions with a monopoly on governmentñfunded construction projects.

A PLA is nice sounding phrase for union-only labor, which locks out non-union workers. Study after study proves the obvious: by locking out 80 percent of the construction workforce and handing the unions a monopoly, costs increase by at least 14 to 20 percent. While 14 to 20 percent may not sound like a lot of money, consider the “Big Dig”, which was governed by a union-only PLA. With a cost of almost $15 billion and rising, a 14 percent increase, which is on the low end, is $2.1 billion. For what? What did that extra $2 billion to $3 billion buy taxpayers?

PLA proponents argue that the union-only agreements don’t prohibit non-union workers from participating on a project ñ just as long as the non-union worker agrees to join a union. They also contend a PLA guarantees a quality project, finished on time and on budget. The checkered history of delays, price increases and shoddy construction on the Big Dig debunks this propaganda. These same individuals consistently refuse to acknowledge the fact that wages, benefits and training are all standardized by law for public construction projects, rendering PLAs meaningless on these issues.

By generously donating millions of dollars of their members’ dues to political candidates, construction unions have ensured quid pro quos like PLAs and other gimmicks. Together, the unions and public officials engage in employment discrimination with these sweetheart deals. The irony is, these quid pro quos make the unions no different from the greedy, unscrupulous bosses and owners they once fought against when unions were first evolving in the U.S.

So, while it’s important to acknowledge the commitment and work of the unions more than a century ago, it’s equally important to recognize the majority of today’s workers who have chosen not to belong to a union. This majority has decided to rise or fall on their own merits through hard work and determination. That is what we celebrate on Labor Day.